BIMZELX Solution for injection Ref.[27933] Active ingredients: Bimekizumab

Traceability

In order to improve the traceability of biological medicinal products, the name and the batch number of the administered product should be clearly recorded.

Infections

Bimekizumab may increase the risk of infections such as upper respiratory tract infections and oral candidiasis (see section 4.8).

Caution should be exercised when considering the use of bimekizumab in patients with a chronic infection or a history of recurrent infection. Treatment with bimekizumab must not be initiated in patients with any clinically important active infection until the infection resolves or is adequately treated (see section 4.3).

Patients treated with bimekizumab should be instructed to seek medical advice if signs or symptoms suggestive of an infection occur. If a patient develops a clinically important infection or is not responding to standard therapy, the patient should be monitored carefully and bimekizumab should not be administered until the infection resolves.

Pre-treatment evaluation for tuberculosis (TB)

Prior to initiating treatment with bimekizumab, patients should be evaluated for TB infection. Bimekizumab should not be given in patients with active TB (see section 4.3). Patients receiving bimekizumab should be monitored for signs and symptoms of active TB. Anti-TB therapy should be considered prior to initiating bimekizumab in patients with a past history of latent or active TB in whom an adequate course of treatment cannot be confirmed.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Cases of new or exacerbations of inflammatory bowel disease have been reported with bimekizumab (see section 4.8). Bimekizumab is not recommended in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. If a patient develops signs and symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease or experiences an exacerbation of pre-existing inflammatory bowel disease, bimekizumab should be discontinued and appropriate medical management should be initiated.

Hypersensitivity

Serious hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylactic reactions have been observed with IL-17 inhibitors. If a serious hypersensitivity reaction occurs, administration of bimekizumab should be discontinued immediately and appropriate therapy initiated.

Vaccinations

Prior to initiating therapy with bimekizumab, completion of all age appropriate immunizations according to current immunization guidelines should be considered.

Live vaccines should not be given in patients treated with bimekizumab.

Patients treated with bimekizumab may receive inactivated or non-live vaccinations. Healthy individuals who received a single 320 mg dose of bimekizumab two weeks prior to vaccination with an inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine had similar antibody responses compared to individuals who did not receive bimekizumab prior to vaccination.

Excipients

This medicinal product contains less than 1 mmol (23 mg) sodium per dose, that is to say essentially “sodium free”.

No interaction studies have been performed.

There is no direct evidence for the role of IL-17A or IL-17F in the expression of CYP450 enzymes. The formation of some CYP450 enzymes is suppressed by increased levels of cytokines during chronic inflammation. Thus, anti-inflammatory treatments, such as with the IL-17A and IL-17F inhibitor bimekizumab, may result in normalisation of CYP450 levels with accompanying lower exposure of CYP450-metabolised medicinal products. Therefore, a clinically relevant effect on CYP450 substrates with a narrow therapeutic index, in which the dose is individually adjusted (e.g. warfarin) cannot be excluded. On initiation of bimekizumab therapy in patients being treated with these types of medicinal products, therapeutic monitoring should be considered.

Live vaccines should not be given concurrently with bimekizumab (see section 4.4).

Women of childbearing potential

Women of childbearing potential should use an effective method of contraception during treatment and for at least 17 weeks after treatment.

Pregnancy

There is a limited amount of data on the use of bimekizumab in pregnant women. Animal studies do not indicate direct or indirect harmful effects with respect to pregnancy, embryonic/foetal development, parturition or postnatal development (see section 5.3). As a precautionary measure, it is preferable to avoid the use of Bimzelx during pregnancy.

Breast-feeding

It is unknown whether bimekizumab is excreted in human milk. A risk to the newborn/infant cannot be excluded. A decision must be made whether to discontinue breast-feeding or to discontinue/abstain from Bimzelx therapy taking into account the benefit of breast-feeding for the child and the benefit of therapy for the woman.

Fertility

The effect of bimekizumab on human fertility has not been evaluated. Animal studies do not indicate direct or indirect harmful effects with respect to fertility (see section 5.3).

Bimzelx has no or negligible influence on the ability to drive and use machines.

Summary of the safety profile

The most frequently reported adverse reactions were upper respiratory tract infections (14.5%) (most frequently nasopharyngitis) and oral candidiasis (7.3%).

Tabulated list of adverse reactions

Adverse reactions from clinical studies (Table 1) are classified by MedDRA System Organ Class and frequency, using the following convention: very common (≥1/10), common (≥1/100 to <1/10), uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100), rare (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000), very rare (<1/10,000), not known (cannot be estimated from the available data).

Table 1. List of adverse reactions:

^a Includes: injection site erythema, reaction, oedema, pain, swelling.

Description of selected adverse reactions

Infections

In the placebo-controlled period of Phase III clinical studies in plaque psoriasis, infections were reported in 36.0% of patients treated with bimekizumab for up to 16 weeks compared with 22.5% of patients treated with placebo. Serious infections occurred in 0.3% of patients treated with bimekizumab and 0% treated with placebo.

The majority of infections consisted of non-serious mild to moderate upper respiratory tract infections such as nasopharyngitis. There were higher rates of oral and oropharyngeal candidiasis in patients treated with bimekizumab consistent with the mechanism of action (7.3% and 1.2% respectively compared to 0% for placebo-treated patients). More than 98% of cases were non-serious, mild or moderate in severity, and did not require treatment discontinuation. A slightly higher incidence of oral candidiasis was reported in patients <70 kg (8.5% versus 7.0% in patients ≥70 kg).

Over the entire treatment period of Phase III studies in plaque psoriasis, infections were reported in 63.2% of patients treated with bimekizumab (120.4 per 100 patient-years). Serious infections were reported in 1.5% of patients treated with bimekizumab (1.6 per 100 patient-years) (see section 4.4).

Neutropenia

Neutropenia was observed with bimekizumab in phase III clinical studies in plaque psoriasis. Over the entire treatment period of Phase III studies, neutropenia grade ¾ were observed in 1% of patients treated with bimekizumab. Most cases were transient and did not require treatment discontinuation. No serious infections were associated with neutropenia.

Hypersensitivity

Serious hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylactic reactions have been observed with IL-17 inhibitors.

Immunogenicity

Approximately 45% of plaque psoriasis patients treated with bimekizumab up to 56 weeks at the recommended dosing regimen (320 mg every 4 weeks up to week 16 and 320 mg every 8 weeks thereafter) developed anti-drug antibodies. Of the patients who developed anti-drug antibodies, approximately 34% (16% of all patients treated with bimekizumab) had antibodies that were classified as neutralising. No evidence of altered clinical response, or significantly altered safety profile was associated with anti-bimekizumab antibodies development.

Elderly patients (≥65 years)

Elderly patients may be more likely to experience certain adverse reactions such as oral candidiasis, dermatitis and eczema when using bimekizumab. In the placebo-controlled period of Phase III clinical studies in plaque psoriasis, oral candidiasis was observed in 18.2% of patients ≥65 years versus 6.3 % in <65 years, dermatitis and eczema in 7.3% of patients ≥65 years versus 2.8% in <65 years.

Reporting of suspected adverse reactions

Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the national reporting system listed in Appendix V.

In the absence of compatibility studies, this medicinal product must not be mixed with other medicinal products.